A statesman who declared that France would continue the war amid defeat
“Must hope disappear? Is the defeat final? No!”
Charles de Gaulle was a French soldier, resistance leader, and statesman who claimed to represent France’s continued war effort after the defeat of 1940. From London he organized Free France and challenged Vichy’s claim to legitimacy, then led the provisional government after liberation while confronting disputes over the shape of reconstruction. He prized a strong executive and national autonomy, founding the Fifth Republic, but his rule also left enduring tensions over personal power and the colonial wars.
Career Timeline
- 1912–1918Infantry officer; served in the First World War and was held as a German prisoner
- 1932–1937Officer on the Supreme War Council staff; wrote on armored and mobile warfare
- 1940.05–06Commanded the 4th Armored Division; promoted brigadier and became under-secretary for national defence and war
- 1940–1943Leader of Free France in London; organized French forces and overseas committees
- 1943–1944Chairman of the French Committee of National Liberation
- 1944–1946President of the Provisional Government of the French Republic
- 1958–1959Prime minister; led the establishment of the Fifth Republic constitution
- 1959–1969First president of the French Fifth Republic